Carnival Cruise Lines has launched a new cruise program that will kick off this fall. These 9 to 15 day adventures, otherwise known as Carnival Journeys, promise to create unique cruise experiences in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Central America, and Mexico.
These cruises will not only travel to more exotic ports of call, but they will be combined with activities and shore excursions that will be tailored to each itinerary. Ships will include the Carnival Vista, Sunshine, Glory, Miracle, and Triumph.
Carnival Journeys will debut on the Carnival Dream with an 11 day, one way cruise from New Orleans to San Juan beginning on October 4, 2015. Other departure cities will include Miami, Port Canaveral, New Orleans, Galveston, Los Angeles, Baltimore, New York, and San Juan. The cruises will be a mix of round trip and one way voyages.
Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president gave the following statement: “We have received a tremendous amount of feedback from our guests and travel agent partners about the importance of consistently offering new Carnival cruise experiences. Carnival Journeys was created to offer our existing customers even more options while helping us to attract those guests who have not had the opportunity to sail with Carnival and may be enticed by these longer, more exotic itineraries. These new cruises also offer our valued travel agent partners a tremendous new sales opportunity and a great way to earn enhanced commissions based on the longer cruise duration.”
Memorable experiences and activities will include:
Authentic Eats: Passengers will have the opportunity to enjoy cooking demonstrations by local restaurants and chefs. They will also be able to take a shore excursion to their restaurant while in port and visit the local markets as the chefs shops for regional specialties.
“Local”-tainment: From calypso, soca and Goombay to colorful folkloric entertainment, Carnival Journeys participants will get an up close and personal look at their destination through local entertainment performances taking place outside the ship or on board.
Academy of Fun: Enrichment sessions that will include digital photography and social media, arts and crafts, and celestial navigation.
Throwback Sea Day: One sea day on each voyage will take you back to 1987 with retro pool games, old school dining options like Baked Alaska and the midnight buffet, a 1987 version of the Carnival Caper newsletter, and a white glove Captain’s Celebration.
Shipboard Team Member Connections: Q&A sessions with the ship’s captain, cruise director, hotel director and others onboard that will give passengers the opportunity to engage and interact with them in a casual setting. There will also be an unforgettable show performed by the ship’s crew during the cruise.
Doug Parker with Cruise Radio sat down with Terry Thornton, the senior vice president of marketing planning with Carnival Cruise Lines, and talked about Carnival Journeys. You can listen to the interview below and learn more about this exciting new program by Carnival.
I do like the idea of Carnival Journeys. But I wish they would have more cruises that do a round trip out of there ports. With the way the airlines keep changing times and prices , I will not fly. I rather drive to the port of my choice. I realize some people have to work but there are many cruisers that are retired and have the time to drive.